Florida HOA records requests: the official records, the 10-business-day deadline, and the $50-a-day penalty

What this guide covers

Florida defines a homeowners’ association’s “official records” by list, tells the board how long to keep them, where and how fast to show them, what it may charge, and what it owes a member it stonewalls. This guide covers homeowners’ associations under the HOA act (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)–(5)) and notes where the condominium act differs (Fla. Stat. § 718.111(12)). It does not cover the estoppel certificate a closing agent orders, which is a separate statutory product.

The short answer

• The official records include the governing documents and rules, minutes of all board and member meetings, the member roster, insurance policies, every current contract, the financial and accounting records, and the ballots and voting papers from each vote (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)(a)).
• They are kept for at least 7 years — bids and voting papers for at least 1 year — and made available to a parcel owner within 45 miles of the community or within the county, within 10 business days of a written request (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)(a), (5)(a)).
• A member may photograph or scan records with a phone or portable scanner at no charge, and gets copies on the spot when the whole request is 25 pages or fewer (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(a)).
• The association may not ask why a member wants the records, and may not limit inspection to less than one 8-hour business day a month (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(g)).
• Missing the 10-business-day deadline after a certified-mail request creates a rebuttable presumption of a willful failure, and minimum damages run at $50 per calendar day for up to 10 days starting on the 11th business day (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(b)–(c)).
• An association with 100 or more parcels must post its core documents on a password-protected website or app (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)(b)).
• Condominiums: records are produced within 10 working days, with the same $50-a-day minimum damages (Fla. Stat. § 718.111(12)(b)–(c)).

Step by step

1. Know what counts as an official record

The statute lists the records an HOA must maintain, when applicable, for at least 7 years or longer if the governing documents require (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)(a)). The list runs from plans, permits and warranties for common-area improvements, through the bylaws, articles, declaration and current rules with every amendment, to the minutes of all board and member meetings, a current roster of members with mailing addresses and parcel identifications, the insurance policies, every current contract including the management agreement, and the financial and accounting records kept according to good accounting practices — itemised receipts and expenditures, a running account for each member, tax returns and financial statements (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)(a)1.–10.). Bids received for work are official records kept for 1 year, and ballots, sign-in sheets, proxies and all other voting papers are kept for at least 1 year after the vote (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)(a)9., 12.). A catch-all covers every other written record related to the operation of the association (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)(a)14.). The board adopts written rules on how records are retained and for how long, and makes those rules available through its website or app (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)(c)).

2. Produce them within 10 business days, close to home

Unless law or the governing documents provide otherwise, the official records are maintained within the state and made available to a parcel owner for inspection or photocopying, within 45 miles of the community or within the county where the association is located, within 10 business days after the board or its designee receives a written request (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(a)). The association may comply by keeping a copy available in the community, by making the records available electronically over the internet, or by letting the member view them on a screen and print on request (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(a)).

If a photocopier is available where the records are kept, the association provides copies on request during the inspection when the entire request is limited to no more than 25 pages (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(a)). A member or their authorised representative may use a smartphone, tablet, portable scanner or similar device to make their own electronic copies, and the association may not charge for that (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(a)).

3. Charge only what the statute permits

The association may adopt reasonable written rules on the frequency, time, location, notice, records to be inspected and manner of inspection, but may not require a parcel owner to demonstrate a proper purpose or state any reason, and may not limit the right to less than one 8-hour business day per month (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(g)). It may charge for copies: personnel costs only if retrieving and copying takes more than half an hour and at no more than $20 per hour, no personnel charge at all for requests of 25 or fewer pages, up to 25 cents per page on its own photocopier, and the actual invoiced cost when a request exceeds 25 pages or no copier is available and an outside service is used (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(g)). The association keeps enough copies of the recorded governing documents on hand for members and prospective members (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(g)).

4. Withhold only the listed categories

Nine categories are not accessible to members: records protected by the lawyer-client or work-product privilege, until the litigation ends; information gathered in approving a lease, sale or transfer of a parcel; guest-visit information in a gated community; personnel records of association or management-company employees, though not employment agreements or records of compensation; medical records; social security, driver licence and credit card numbers, email addresses, phone and fax numbers, emergency contacts and other personal identifying information beyond name, parcel designation, mailing address and property address; security measures and passwords; the association’s software; and the affirmative acknowledgments the statute references (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(g)1.–9.). The association may still print a directory with each owner’s name, parcel address and phone numbers unless the owner opts out of the phone listing in writing (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(g)6.).

5. Understand what a refusal costs

Failing to provide access within 10 business days after receiving a written request sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, creates a rebuttable presumption that the association willfully failed to comply (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(b)). A member denied access is entitled to actual damages or minimum damages for a willful failure, and the minimum is $50 per calendar day for up to 10 days, counted from the 11th business day after the request was received (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(c)). A director, board member or community association manager who knowingly, willfully and repeatedly violates the access rule — two or more violations within 12 months — intending to harm the association or a member commits a second-degree misdemeanor (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(d)). Defacing or destroying accounting records, or failing to create them, with intent to harm is a first-degree misdemeanor, and refusing to produce records to avoid detection of a crime is a third-degree felony (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(e)–(f)). A subpoena from a law enforcement agency is answered within 5 business days (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(i)).

6. Post the core documents online if you have 100 or more parcels

By the start of 2025, an association with 100 or more parcels must post on its website or app the articles, bylaws, declaration and rules, a list of executory contracts and the past year’s bids, the annual budget and any proposed budget, the annual financial report, its insurance policies, each director’s certification, any contracts with directors or their firms and any conflict-of-interest documents, and the notices and agendas of member and board meetings (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)(b)1.). The site must have a protected area accessible only to parcel owners and employees, a parcel owner gets a username and password on written request, and anything from the protected categories above is redacted before posting (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)(b)2.–4.).

7. If you are a condominium

Condominium official records are made available to a unit owner within 45 miles of the property or within the county, within 10 working days after the board or its designee receives a written request, and the association may satisfy that by keeping a copy on the property, offering the records online, or showing them on a screen and printing on request (Fla. Stat. § 718.111(12)(b)). The records listed in the first six items of the condo list are kept permanently from the association’s inception, bids for at least 1 year, and everything else within the state for at least 7 years (Fla. Stat. § 718.111(12)(b)). Minimum damages for a willful failure to permit inspection are $50 per calendar day for up to 10 days, beginning on the 11th working day after the written request, and a prevailing owner recovers attorney’s fees (Fla. Stat. § 718.111(12)(c)).

Common mistakes

• Asking why. The association may not require a purpose or a reason for an inspection (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(g)).
• Charging staff time on a small request. Personnel costs apply only past half an hour and never on 25 pages or fewer (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(g)).
• Banning phones. A member may scan or photograph records with a portable device at no charge (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(a)).
• Treating all information about an owner as private. Only the listed categories are withheld; a member’s name, parcel, mailing and property address are not (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(g)6.).
• Letting a certified-mail request sit. Day 11 starts the presumption of willfulness and the daily damages (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(b)–(c)).

Where software fits

Platforms that host protected owner portals and document libraries are compared in our best-of roundups; this page stays with what the law says.

When to involve counsel

Bring counsel in before withholding any record as privileged, before answering a request from a member in active dispute with the association, and immediately on receipt of a subpoena — the statute’s criminal provisions attach to individuals, not only to the association (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(d)–(f)).

Corrections and review history

• 2026-09-09: citations checked against the 2025 Florida Statutes on flsenate.gov. Not yet published.

Sources

1. Florida Statutes § 720.303 (2025) — Association powers and duties; meetings of board; official records; budgets — accessed 2026-09-09
2. Florida Statutes § 718.111 (2025) — The association (official records; inspection) — accessed 2026-09-09